"I shall always cherish with pride and gratitude the recollection of the
fact that the voice which first pronounced, and pronounced alone, came
from the Mother of States--a pride and gratitude rising above any
consequences that can betide me personally. May I not regard it as a
fact pointing to the overthrow of sectional jealousies, and looking to
the permanent life and vigor of the Union, cemented by the blood of those
who have passed to their reward?--a Union wonderful in its formation,
boundless in its hopes, amazing in its destiny.
"I accept the nomination, relying upon an abiding devotion to the
interests, honor, and glory of the whole country, but, above and beyond
all, upon a Power superior to all human might--a Power which, from the
first gun of the Revolution, in every crisis through which we have
passed, in every hour of acknowledged peril, when the dark clouds had
shut down over us, has interposed as if to baffle human wisdom, outmarch
human forecast, and bring out of darkness the rainbow of promise. Weak
myself, faith and hope repose there in security.
"I accept the nomination upon the platform adopted by the convention, not
because this is expected of me as a candidate, but because the principles
it embraces command the approbation of my judgment; and with them, I
believe I can safely say, there has been no word or act of my life in
conflict.
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